For the purpose of packaging, a predetermined collation of a plurality of smoking articles is wrapped tightly into an inner liner to form a wrapped bundle.
After the bundle of smoking articles is wrapped in the inner liner the wrapped bundle is closed by gluing the flaps of the inner liner along the length of the wrapped bundle as well as on the bottom and the top.
Typically an inner liner used to wrap a bundle of smoking articles is made either from a single packaging material, for example paper or aluminum foil, or from a combination of packaging materials, for example paper, aluminum foil and a plastic material.
Typically, the wrapped bundle is then inserted into an outer pack, for example a hinge lid pack or the hinge lid pack is assembled around the wrapped bundle.
For hinge lid packs typically the top section of the inner liner is removable to allow access to the smoking articles. To facilitate the removal of the top section of the inner liner, a perforation line is provided on the inner liner. Once the top section has been removed the inner liner cannot be closed anymore and the protective function of the inner liner is reduced.
Alternatively, the wrapped bundle is the final pack. In that case the inner liner is the outer wrapper of the bundle of smoking articles. An example for such a wrapped bundle is given in the EP 944 539. The wrapped bundle of the EP 944 539 comprises a collation of smoking articles which is sealed into an inner liner. The inner liner comprises an aperture in the top section. To add stability, the wrapped bundle further comprises an inner frame arranged partly around the smoking articles within the wrapped bundle. The aperture in the inner liner of the EP 944 539 requires a sophisticated inner liner blank.
There is a need for a wrapped bundle of smoking articles which provides improved protection from heat, loss of moisture and humidity after the wrapped bundle has been opened, which is simple in structure and cost effective in production.